Progress in adolescent immunization

The recent addition of three new vaccines to the routine adolescent immunization schedule opens new opportunities to provide preventative interventions for long-term health lasting well into adulthood. These newly approved vaccines, Tdap (adolescent tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) vaccine, conjugate meningococcal vaccine, and human papillomavirus vaccine, are now recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to be administered routinely during the teenage years beginning at the11 to 12 year-old-health care visit and continuing through young adulthood. This approach not only allows for catch-up vaccination for those who did not receive earlier recommended childhood vaccines, but also provides protection at an age of increased risk for these infections. The specific recommendations for each of the three vaccines and the rationale for each of them are described.